bittersweet

Meanings

1. Both bitter and sweet.
2. Expressing contrasting emotions of pain and pleasure.
3. Of bittersweet color (see the noun section, below).

1. Bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara).
2. Bittersweetness.
3. A vine, of the genus Celastrus, having small orange fruit that open to reveal red seeds.
4. A variety of apple with a bittersweet taste.
5. Any variety of clam in the family Glycymerididae
6. A pinkish-orange color. Any color in between scarlet and orange.

Etymology

From Middle English bitterswete, biterswete, equivalent to bitter + sweet. Cognate with Saterland Frisian bitterswäit (“bittersweet”), West Frisian bittersoet (“bittersweet”), Dutch bitterzoet (“bittersweet”), German bittersüß (“bittersweet”), Danish bittersød (“bittersweet”), Swedish bittersöt (“bittersweet”).